Modern day satellite systems are used in a variety of applications, including providing commercial communication networks, defense related applications, mass broadcasting of television programs, etc. In one application, a system of satellites provides television programs to a number of consumers by broadcasting television programs over a wide geographic area. Each of the satellites in such a system may be responsible for broadcasting television programming signals over a specified geographical area.
In such television broadcasting systems, signals transmitted by a broadcasting satellite are received by a number of consumer terminals dispersed over a wide geographical area. To get proper information from the signals received by any of the number of consumer terminals, it is important that the satellite signal received by the consumer terminal is of proper strength. The strength of satellite signals traveling in the atmosphere between a satellite and a consumer terminal gets affected by a variety of factors, some of which are related to the weather conditions prevalent in the atmosphere. For example, high moisture content in the atmosphere results in higher degradation of satellite signals passing through such atmosphere. Similarly, certain weather patterns, such as storms may generate magnetic charges in the upper atmosphere, and the strength of satellite signals passing through such storms may become adversely affected.
To ensure that most of the consumer terminals receive satellite signals at a strength above a minimum acceptable level, a broadcasting satellite must account for potential signal degradations. However, because most broadcasting satellites have limited power available to transmit satellite signals, it is not advantageous for an operator of a satellite broadcasting system to broadcast satellite signals of strengths much higher than the threshold level necessary to provide the proper signal strength at a majority of consumer terminals in the given area. However, when a satellite is broadcasting satellite signals in an area at a strength level not significantly above this threshold level, signal degradations due to the presence of adverse atmospheric conditions in that area may cause the satellite signals to drop below the minimum threshold level in that area. This results in a consumer not being able to obtain sufficient useful information from the satellite signals. As such, it is important that the broadcasting satellite has some information about the atmospheric conditions and their effect on the satellite signals transmitted in a given area, and/or about the actual strength of the satellite signals received at various consumer terminals.
One way to address this problem is by using a system of ground based weather radar stations to detect the presence of weather conditions which may attenuate the strength of signals transmitted by broadcasting satellites in a given area. This approach relies upon the use of ground based radars to detect or predict storm fronts or other inclement weather conditions and to provide this information to a broadcasting satellite. Using this information, the broadcasting satellite may compensate for the anticipated attenuation of satellite signals due to rain or other conditions of a storm, or the satellite may broadcast satellite signals of higher signal strength in an area where such inclement weather is expected. One of the disadvantages of this approach is that it fails to provide non-weather related signal degradation and interference information. Secondly, this approach relies upon weather radar stations throughout an area of interest, which may not be a possibility in all areas covered by a satellite broadcasting system. Thirdly, such a system requires a number of weather radar stations and a satellite system control center to be communicatively linked to each other throughout a desired coverage area. Installation and maintenance of such communication links may be expensive.